In Your Arms
by Pharaoh'sCrystals
Summary: Tea is a troubled teen trying to get her life in check. Mai, her best friend decides to take Tea away for the weekend. What will become of this? TeaXMai


"Alright, I will see you in a few minutes. Bye!" Hanging up the phone the young brunette quickly ran into her room and grabbed her purse and ran out the door. Sitting on her front porch while she waited she began to fiddle with her keys admiring the sound it made with her new car key. Staring out into the driveway she admired the new blue Saturn car that now belonged to her. She just wished she could drive it, sighing out loud she blew at her long chocolate bangs that covered her cerulean blue eyes. Only having her permit she needed an adult still but, that's what Mai was for. Her best friend was teaching her how to drive since her parents never had time for her.

"You ready Tea?" Speak of the devil, she thought in her head. Looking down near her mail box Tea saw a small purple sports car with the roof down and a blonde female sitting in the front seat leaning out the window. "Let's go!" Getting to her feet Tea ran down to the passenger side of the car and jumped in over the door. Buckling her seat belt the car sped away for a long vacation from the hell she knew as home.

"Want a drink Hun?" Mai asks as she looks through the many chilled bottles that sat in the fridge of the refrigerator. Mai's grandmother owned a complex of condominiums in Cape May, Tea's favorite getaway. Mai decided it was time to get her best friend away from the place that she called home and try to cheer her up.

"Can I just have water?" Tea asks staring out the window. Mai shakes her head and wonders how she got stuck with the most innocent girl alive as her best friend.

"No you cannot! You are NOT at home and Mai has different rules that you will follow!" Smiling Mai hands her friend a cup filled with ice and pours some red liquid into it for her to drink. "You can start off with something simple." Tea didn't know what it was but she really didn't care as she downed it quickly.

A few hours later Tea sat flicking through the channels waiting for Mai to return home with dinner. Her eyes seemed a little glazed and her head felt a little lighter. She wasn't sure why but she liked this feeling. Maybe because she had forgotten about what was at home or maybe she was just letting go of what she had known then. She wasn't sure but she was done thinking about it, her thoughts were now on a random channel that she found with music videos on it. Putting the remote down Tea closed her eyes and just listened to the lyrics of the songs that played.

Mai had been watching the whole time. Staring at her troubled friend was not something she liked to do but something she found herself doing more often ever since her ex boyfriend cheated on her. She felt the need to protect her young friend from that hurtful feeling, Tea already had enough to deal with, and she didn't want to add anymore pressure on her life.

Quietly walking up the steps Mai places the food down on the table and walks over to her sleeping friend. She took the remote from Tea's lap and turned the TV off only to earn a mumbled sentence from Tea. Glancing down at her friend she saw her eyelids flutter and then close deep in sleep. Pushing her bangs to the side of her face Mai stares down at the poor girl hoping that this getaway would help her. She wanted to see Tea smile again, like she had before her father died. That's when everything went wrong. Mai had never asked about what went on in Tea's house all she knew was that her new step father was a drunk and Tea's mother was falling into his trap and giving him what he wanted. Not noticing her daughter's misplacement from the world and her broken family. She figured if Tea wanted to tell her she would and she hoped that's what this week away from those two would do, no rules, no boundaries just her and Tea away from the world they both knew.

Shaking her head she noticed she had been staring at the girl in front of her. She really had to stop dozing into space, gives people the wrong impression, she decided. Shaking Tea's shoulder she whispered "Wake up!" a couple times and Tea's eyes did finally open when Mai began tickling her side. "Wake up sleepy head. Dinner has arrived! I got Chinese food so we could eat before we went out tonight." She knew Chinese was Tea's favorite and enjoyed seeing her eyes light up when she heard Chinese food. "Well come out and get it!" Mai teases as she walks over to the table by the bay window that overlooked the ocean.

"We're going out tonight?" Tea asks as she makes her way to the table rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Of course dummy! We didn't get away from home to sit and do nothing you know!" Mai jokes.

"But I don't have anything to wear."  
"I noticed." Mai says sympathetically. "Why do you think I worked over time?!" To buy myself a dog?! I have been planning this trip since… well you know, that _Bastard_ walked into your life.

I've got plenty of money so before we go out we are going to a really great shop on the board walk where they sell pretty cool clothes. How's that sound?"

"Great!" Tea nods her head as she opens the box of Chicken Lo Mein and pours some on her plate mixing it with plain fried rice with her chopsticks.

"Want another drink?" Mai asked handing Tea another martini glass filled with green liquid. Apple martinis were Mai's favorite and she had made a great impact on Tea as she watched her friend quickly drink another one. The music played loudly in the background causing the dance floor to thump underneath their high healed feet. The music had seemed to bring life to Tea's body, just like Mai had planned. She did know her best friend quite well if she did say so herself. Bringing Tea to a club was a great idea, smiling to herself, Mai put her glass down on the counter and grabbed Tea's hand causing her to drop the glass in her hand and shatter on the ground. Running back on the dance floor Mai began dancing and Tea quickly joins her. The club was really crowded and they were dancing quite close, Mai observed causing her face to turn red.

"Dance with me Mai!" Tea squealed as she twirls Mai around and begins dancing very close. Mai smiles to herself as she sees Tea's smile, she only wished it was real not due to the alcohol in her system. Continuing to dance they got closer and closer and Mai continued to push the feeling into the back of her mind that she wanted to impress Tea with her movement, she kept telling herself she wanted to impress all the guys around them.

"Thanks so much Mai! I really needed that!" Tea says hanging on her best friends arm. Mai's amethyst eyes stared down at the young brunette hanging on her. There was a light blush on her cheeks and she wasn't sure why but she sure wished her best friend had an idea of what she was doing. "What time is it?" Tea asks bring Mai back down to earth.

"2:30 in the morning." Mai says as she catches Tea as she begins to stumble down the side walk. The condo they were staying at was only another block away but Mai was getting so tired. She wondered if it would be easier if she carried Tea back to the condo. She wasn't that heavy and they would definitely get there faster. "Come here Tea, let me carry you."

"Okay." Grunting Mai picked the brunette up and began carrying her back to the condo. "Yanno… Your eyes… are really pretty and your face is very fine and well shaped. Has a guy ever told you that?" Tea observes as her right hand begins to caress her best friend's cheek.

"Alright get down!" Mai puts Tea down feeling very uncomfortable and flustered with the fact that her best friend was touching her in such a way.

"It sure is cold tonight." Mai shivers quietly in the silence of her closed off room in the back of the condo. "Body heat would be really nice, wish I had some." Pulling the blanket tight around her neck Mai sighs and begins to let her mind wander. "How many martinis did I give this girl tonight?"

"One apple martini….. Two apple martinis…. Three apple martinis…..Four apple martinis…. Five apple-

There was a soft knock on her door. "Come in Tea" She sighs. The door knob clicked open and in came Tea in her over sized sweats and baggy t-shirt.

"It's kind of cold out there…. Mind if I join you?" Her eyes seemed a little better and she looked a little less wacky, Mai thought, what's the harm. Holding open the covers for her best friend Mai moves over while Tea jumps in bed and curls up like a ball with her back to Mai.

"Good night Tea." Mai whispers.

"Good night Mai." Tea mumbles.

_The feeling of being in someone's arms was a feeling she could never forget, Tea realized as she stood in the arms of a loved one. The face of this person was shadowed but the touch was amazingly familiar. The sky was dark with small sparkles of stars scattered and the smell of summer green grass was all around. _


End file.
